How Workhuman iQ Can Help Organizations Uncover – and Remedy – Inequities
Workplace inequalities are a systemic and historic issue that affects many demographics. Despite efforts by many organizations to identify and mitigate these disparities, they persistently manifest in various forms such as biased language in emails, wage gaps, and unequal distribution of growth opportunities. Even recognition programs, designed to motivate and reward employees, are not immune.
Workhuman®’s research with Gallup underscores how recognition can impact demographics in differing ways. Inequalities in recognition programs can potentially hinder career advancement, influencing performance reviews, promotion chances, and overall career trajectories.
Find out how Recognition data can take your DEI strategy to new heights.
On the bright side, a well-designed recognition program, coupled with insightful data access and consultants, can help organizations find and reduce disparities. In this article, we’ll explore how the Workhuman iQ® team can provide data and hands-on guidance to help organizations confront and remedy potential inequities in recognition that stem from systemic cultural behaviors.
Let’s get started.
Understanding how Workhuman iQ® works
Workhuman iQ® is a team of psychologists, researchers, data scientists, linguists, programmers, and engineers that studies tens of millions of data points on how we work. They work 1:1 with clients to help uncover findings like demographic inequities, where and when they exist, why it’s important to be aware of patterns of inequity, and how unexpected they can be.
In short, these analyses give clients valuable information about what’s happening inside their organizations.
The client analyses are both motivating and eye-opening – they empower organizations to use the data they uncover to inform change. The analyses encourage clients to dig more into patterns or collections of trends in their recognition programs and work together with other Workhuman departments to create a path toward more equitable behaviors.
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) improve business processes and resultsOpens in a new tab is top of mind for most organizations in 2024. Here at Workhuman, our iQ team invested years learning how to leverage the power of AI to develop our in-the-moment, micro coaching tool called Inclusion Advisor.
This proprietary feature within the Workhuman Cloud® identifies potential bias in recognition messages and provides real-time coaching for message improvement. By gently offering suggestions for how users can edit their award text to exclude harmful or biased language, it helps people be more mindful, which can reduce inequities and foster cultures of belonging.
We’ve found that out of all the issues that Inclusion Advisor flags in messages, 79% are edited by our users. Additionally, Inclusion Advisor helps educate employees on how to communicate and interact with others. Users process the information they learn from the tool and apply it to in-person interactions both in and out of the workplace.
The possible ramifications of inequity in recognition
To better understand the depth of the data iQ can uncover and the trickle-down impact it can have on employees, let’s look at an example related to gender inequity.
To start, it’s important to understand that one reason recognition is so powerful is because it reinforces behavior within organizations. For better or worse, this extends to how a person might be perceived by others, and how people may perceive themselves.
When analyzing award text, Workhuman iQ often found that women are more likely to receive messages that are flagged by Inclusion Advisor for gender-biased language. These messages tend to use affiliative language that values personality and likeability and might look like:
• “Great job bringing the team together – and you did it all with a smile!”
• “I appreciate your kindness while dealing with this project.”
• “We couldn’t have done this without your support and care.”
Men are often more likely to be recognized with language that is achievement or work-quality-based. This includes being recognized for skills or traits like being able, responsible, instrumental, and proactive.
One study suggests that this might happen because men choose to take on work that is easier to recognize and, therefore, more straightforward to review. This might look like taking on high-visibility projects or external-facing work with shorter deadlines.
Women might be more likely to take on work that boosts the psychological safety of their colleagues, and is more difficult to see, like leading employee resource groups (ERGs), or projects with longer-term deadlines.
Download our exclusive report on how to build psychological safety.
Being recognized for certain communal behaviors, like being friendly or positive, isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Knowing that your teammates value your personality and enjoy working with you can boost your confidence, especially when managing tricky interpersonal situations.
Consider a person in a client-facing role where being warm and personable contributes to their success. For them, it’s imperative for their growth to be recognized for communal behaviors. It’s when a person is only being recognized for communal behaviors that it becomes a potential barrier to growth.
However, if you are in a role where technical or leadership skills are highly valued, you might feel more confident if you were receiving recognition that highlights these skills, and a lack of these awards might hinder your perception of yourself and hold you back from going after growth opportunities.
Imagine a manager is considering who to nominate for a promotion that involves overseeing a technical project. If a manager is considering Stevie and Dana, they might look back on the recognition each employee received over the last year.
If Stevie, a woman, received recognition highlighting their "positivity”, while Dana was recognized for their "technical skills", can you guess who might be considered and who might be overlooked? It’s these types of gender differences in recognition that can hurt women and other underrepresented groups in the long run.
Practical steps to create positive change
The good news? Addressing these biases has benefits for everyone. When people are recognized for their full contributions, they feel more valued and engaged. This leads to happier employees, increased retention, and a more diverse leadership pipeline.
For more information on how a culture of recognition can amplify the wellbeing of your employees, check out this Workhuman-Gallup report.
So, how can organizations ensure recognition is equitable?
Explore potential gaps and understand what equitable recognition means
Organizations can start by taking an inventory to understand how recognition is being used and where there are opportunities for more equitable treatment. Taking the time to understand what equitable recognition means and looks like in your organization and where there might be gaps, is a great way to begin.
Think of your last team-building event or ERG meeting. Was a woman leading the charge? Women tend to take on supplemental work, sometimes known as office housework, that is not part of their core job responsibilities.
We noticed that in a few of the organizations we analyzed the people more likely to take on these tasks – women and underrepresented groups – are often not recognized for this type of important extra work.
Commit to the process
If your organization is seeking out data to help discover inequities, congratulations, you’ve taken a huge step in a positive direction. We want to say that it’s likely that some or all of what you learn from the data will feel uncomfortable.
Continue to move forward and look for ways to resolve these inequities so work can be a better and fairer place for your people.
Reference – don't rely – on data
There shouldn't be one data point that influences a decision as important as promotions. People, workplaces, and inequity are complicated, and biases can seep into data. What might look like a positive data point in your organization could be seen as negative in another context.
Dig into recognition data to determine what patterns exist across the organization so you can be strategic about how you might target them.
Ask questions like:
· Are certain departments receiving more (or less) recognition? Do these departments tend to consist of more women than men?
· Are there any underrecognized demographic groups?
· How many awards are employees receiving, and of what value?
· What are employees being recognized for?
· Are there any clear differences in the language being used to recognize people?
Complement these data points with other findings from engagement or employee surveys to help shape change going forward. Additionally, consider other ways your organization can gather evidence and information outside of collecting data to uncover insights and motivate action.
Use tools to help spark change
While the above steps will take time, there are minor changes that people at every level can implement to make recognition more equitable.
Start by thinking about the recognition you’re about to send: could you choose to call out this woman’s leadership and patience? Is it possible that you’re undervaluing the award value? Is there another colleague who could use a “thank you” for work that has gone unnoticed?
Look closely at the language in your recognition message and consider the impact that it might have on others. Click on the “Inclusion Advisor” button to flag any biased language in your message. Sitting privately with what biased language might be uncovered can positively influence the way you communicate with others going forward.
Conclusion
The potential negative ripple effects of inequitable recognition may lead to employees feeling undervalued, not perceived for their full potential, and facing setbacks in their careers. If that’s not bad enough, these inequities have the potential to negatively impact the health of the organization.
These analyses are just the beginning – we hope in the future that we’ll have more data to take a broader look at how inequities in recognition affect intersectionality and other demographics.
Achieving true equity in recognition will take time and effort, but the positive impact it can have on the experiences and careers of employees is transformative. Let's work together to close the gap and create a workplace where everyone's contributions are seen, valued, and rewarded fairly.
About the author
Alicyn Zall
Alicyn Zall is a writer dedicated to creating a more equitable and fulfilling workplace. With a focus on actionable, data-driven insights, her work empowers individuals and organizations to foster positive change. In addition to her contribution at Workhuman, Alicyn has served as an editor at Harvard Business Review where she developed books and articles about mental health and the future of work.